The legendary fashion designer Calvin Klein, who rarely makes public appearances these days, returned to New York Fashion Week last week—and he didn’t come alone. Accompanying him were his iconic supermodel muses, Kate Moss and Christy Turlington.
The 82-year-old designer made a rare public appearance on Friday, February 7, when he attended Calvin Klein’s Fall/Winter 2025 runway show at the brand’s New York headquarters. This event marked Calvin Klein’s first New York Fashion Week show since 2018.
Born on November 19, 1942, to an Austrian-Hungarian Jewish family in the Bronx, New York, Klein studied at Manhattan’s High School of Art and Design before attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 1962, he worked as an apprentice for long-established coat and suit manufacturer Dan Millstein, followed by five years of designing for various New York stores. In the spring of 1968, Klein launched his career after taking a selection of samples to a meeting with the head of Bonwit Teller & Co. By fall, the promising young designer had already dominated Fifth Avenue’s storefront displays, and by Christmas, he and his business partner, Barry K. Schwartz, had generated $1 million in revenue. Within five years, in 1973, Klein won the Coty Award for pioneering a new category of clean, modern sportswear.
The name Calvin Klein, now recognized worldwide, truly skyrocketed with the brand’s entry into the denim market. In 1980, when Richard Avedon’s TV commercials featuring a teenage Brooke Shields clad in Calvin Klein jeans aired, sales surpassed $2 million per month.
Klein expanded his consumer base in 1985 with the launch of the fragrance Obsession. The success story continued with Eternity in 1988, featuring the stunning Christy Turlington in its campaigns, followed by CK One, a unisex scent that complemented Klein’s sportswear line and became a massive success. The brand invested millions in print and television advertisements, with one of the most famous campaigns featuring Kate Moss and Marky Mark in Calvin Klein underwear.
“My philosophy has always been the same. It has always been minimal, always about sensuality, always sophisticated. And above all, it has always represented what I consider modern.”
Over its 57-year history, the Calvin Klein brand has evolved into a true international powerhouse, marked by groundbreaking moments, sensational collections, high-profile controversies, licensing battles, and bold, often provocative advertising campaigns. Klein was among the first designers to understand that fashion is more about a masterfully crafted perspective than mere price tags. Decades later, Calvin Klein products continue to sell successfully—global retail sales of Calvin Klein merchandise reached approximately $9 billion in 2023.